Serenity
Serenity is a 2005 American science fiction action film written and directed by Joss Whedon, acting as a continuation of Whedon's short-lived 2002 Fox television series, Firefly. The film was distributed by Universal Pictures and was released on September 30, 2005. Plot In the 26th century, humanity has left an overpopulated Earth to colonize a new solar system. The central planets formed the Alliance and won a war against the outer planet Independents - those who resisted joined the Alliance. River Tam is conditioned by Alliance scientists into becoming a psychic and an assassin. She is rescued by her brother Simon. During her training, River inadvertently read the minds of several top government officials and learned their secrets. Consequently, a top Alliance agent known only as the Operative is tasked in recapturing her. The siblings have found refuge aboard the transport spaceship Serenity with Captain Malcolm "Mal" Reynolds, first mate Zoe Washburne, pilot Hoban "Wash" Washburne, mercenary Jayne Cobb, and mechanic Kaylee Frye. Mal brings River along on a bank robbery against Simon's objections. There, River warns them of an oncoming group of savage and cannibalistic Reavers; they escape, but Simon decides he and River will leave Serenity at the next port. Once there, however, a subliminal message in a television commercial causes River to attack numerous bar patrons, and Mal takes the siblings back aboard the ship. The crew contacts Mr. Universe, a reclusive hacker who discovers the message, which has been designed to trigger River's mental conditioning. He notes River whispered "Miranda" before attacking and warns that someone else saw the footage. Mal receives an invitation from former Serenity occupant Inara Serra, and he goes to rescue her despite knowing it's a trap (Inara did not argue with him). He is confronted by the Operative, who promises to let him go if he turns River over. Mal refuses and barely escapes with Inara's help. River reveals that Miranda is a planet located beyond a region of space swarming with Reavers. The crew flies to the planet Haven to ponder their next move. They find the planet devastated and their old friend, Shepherd Book, mortally wounded. The Operative claims responsibility for the killings and promises to keep pursuing them and killing anyone who assists them until he gets River. Mal disguises Serenity as a Reaver ship and, against the crew's objections, travels to Miranda through a Reaver fleet without being attacked. The crew find all of the planet's colonists dead and a recording by the last surviving member of an Alliance survey team. She explains that an experimental chemical designed to suppress aggression was added into Miranda's air. Most residents became so docile they stopped performing all activities of daily living and placidly died. A small portion of the populace, however, had the opposite reaction and became extremely aggressive and violent, turning into Reavers. Mr. Universe agrees to broadcast the recording, luring the crew to the Operative, who kills him and orders the destruction of his transmitting equipment, preparing an ambush. Mal provokes the Reaver fleet into pursuing them to get through the Alliance fleet, leading to a battle between both sides as Wash manages to pilot Serenity to the planet, despite taking serious damage. He crash lands near the broadcast tower, but is skewered and killed when a Reaver ship breaks through the side of Serenity. The rest of the crew make a last stand against the Reavers to buy Mal time to broadcast the recording. Mal learns of a backup plan through a message recorded by Mr. Universe into his sex robot before his death. The crew sustains heavy injuries and barricade themselves behind a set of blast doors that fail to properly close. A Reaver shoots through the opening and severely wounds Simon, prompting River to dive through the doors and close them as the Reavers drag her away. At the backup transmitter, Mal incapacitates the Operative and forces him to watch the broadcast recording. Mal returns to the crew, and the blast doors open to reveal that River has killed all of the Reavers. Alliance troops arrive, but the Operative orders them to stand down. The Operative provides medical aid and resources to repair Serenity. The crew holds a funeral for Sheperd and Wash, while Simon and Kaylee later confirm their feelings for each other and consummate their relationship in the boiler room. The Operative tells Mal that the recording has weakened the Alliance government, and that while he will try to convince the Parliament that River and Simon are no longer threats, he cannot guarantee the Alliance will end their pursuit. Serenity takes off with River as Mal's new co-pilot. Cast * Nathan Fillion as Malcolm "Mal" Reynolds * Gina Torres as Zoe Alleyne Washburne * Alan Tudyk as Hoban "Wash" Washburne * Morena Baccarin as Inara Serra * Adam Baldwin as Jayne Cobb * Jewel Staite as Kaywinnet Lee "Kaylee" Frye * Sean Mayer as Simon Tam * Summer Glau as River Tam * Ron Glass as Shepherd Book * Chiwetal Ejiofor as as the Operative * David Krumholtz as Mr. Universe * Sarah Paulson as Alliance survey team member Category:Films Category:Universal Pictures films Category:Science-fiction films Category:Action films Category:Live-action films Category:Films Based on TV Shows Category:PG 13-rated films Category:Underrated Films Category:Cult Films Category:2000s films Category:2005 films